US suspends Microsoft and Adobe from labor certification program
The US Department of Labor announced on Thursday that it would suspend Microsoft and Adobe from its Permanent Labor Certification program, Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said. CNBC frames the move as part of the Trump administration's continuing push against immigration and foreign hiring programs ahead of November's midterm elections.
Sonderling said the department will not accept or process any new applications under the program for a host of companies, including Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, Tata, Wipro and HCL. Adobe and Microsoft were also suspended, he said, "due to multiple active federal investigations." He gave a sweeping figure to justify the action: since 2009, he said, these companies alone have requested almost 3 million foreign workers, received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labor certifications, which he described as hundreds of thousands of jobs taken from American workers.
Vice President JD Vance singled out Microsoft, pointing to the company's 6,000 layoffs in 2025 and claiming it "replaced" those workers with people on H-1B visas. He said the administration will keep supporting Microsoft and having a good relationship with it, but will deny it the ability to apply for these permanent residencies until it shows it is serious about putting American workers first. Vance also drew a line between that and high-profile immigrants: he said 99% of American citizens would support someone like Elon Musk or AMD CEO Lisa Su coming in to build something great.
Microsoft answered in a statement the same day. It said the vast majority of its employees in the United States are Americans, and that of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications it submitted in the last fiscal year, 80% were to extend or change the status of existing employees. The company added that petitions were only filed for workers who meet the rigorous standards of the visa category, and that its H-1B wages were among the highest of all H-1B filings. CNBC says it has reached out to Adobe for comment.
The timing carries an irony CNBC points out. On the same Thursday, at the same summit where the suspension was announced, President Donald Trump was set to award the National Medal of Science to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and other leading tech CEOs: Nvidia's Jensen Huang, SpaceX's Elon Musk and AMD's Lisa Su. Each of them immigrated to the US. Nadella is from India and moved to the US in 1988; he joined Microsoft in 1992. Musk was born in South Africa, and Su and Huang in Taiwan.
For context, CNBC notes that tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Apple have been among the top sponsors of H-1B visas for decades. According to 2026 data from Levels.fyi, Amazon had the most H-1B petitions this year at 35,426, followed by Cognizant and EY. Microsoft was a close fourth with 21,706 petitions for 2026, at a median base salary of $180,710.
Key facts
- The Labor Department, per Secretary Keith Sonderling, will suspend Microsoft and Adobe from its Permanent Labor Certification program, citing "multiple active federal investigations."
- The department will also stop accepting or processing new applications under the program for a list of firms including Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, Tata, Wipro and HCL.
- Sonderling claims these companies have requested almost 3 million foreign workers since 2009, with over 230,000 H-1B approvals and over 100,000 permanent labor certifications.
- Vice President JD Vance says Microsoft replaced 6,000 laid-off workers in 2025 with H-1B hires; Microsoft says 80% of its roughly 6,000 H-1B applications last fiscal year were for existing employees.
- Microsoft had 21,706 H-1B petitions for 2026, fourth behind Amazon (35,426), Cognizant and EY, per Levels.fyi.
Why it matters
This is a direct government action against two of the best-known US tech employers, announced alongside rhetoric that links foreign hiring to lost American jobs. It lands as the administration, in CNBC's framing, targets immigration and foreign hiring programs ahead of November's midterm elections. It also sits awkwardly next to a medal ceremony the same day honoring immigrant tech CEOs, including Microsoft's own chief executive. Vance's line is explicit: Microsoft stays a supported partner, but is denied permanent-residency applications until it shows it is putting American workers first.
Who it affects
Microsoft and Adobe are suspended from the program. New applications are also blocked for a list of firms that includes Cognizant, Infosys, Capgemini, Tata, Wipro and HCL. Foreign workers whose employers rely on the program are the people downstream, though the source does not say whether existing applications are affected. Tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Apple have long been among the top H-1B sponsors, so other large employers will be watching.
How to use it
There is nothing to adopt here; this is a policy action, and its practical meaning depends on details the source does not give. The source says the suspension is from the Permanent Labor Certification program and does not say that existing applications or already-issued green cards are affected. No duration or end date is given for any company; Vance says only that it lasts until they show that they are going to get serious about putting American workers first. Employers and workers with pending cases should watch for formal Labor Department guidance.
How solid is it
The announcement itself is attributed to Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, and CNBC reports it directly. The reasoning is thinner. The source does not name or describe the "multiple active federal investigations" of Adobe and Microsoft. Sonderling's totals (almost 3 million workers requested, over 230,000 H-1B approvals, over 100,000 labor certifications since 2009) are his claim and are not independently verified in the piece. The Levels.fyi petition counts are a separate data source. Adobe's response is not given; CNBC says it has reached out for comment.
Risks and caveats
Vance's claim that Microsoft replaced its 6,000 laid-off workers with H-1B hires is his claim, and Microsoft disputes the characterization: it says most of its roughly 6,000 H-1B applications last fiscal year were for existing employees and that its H-1B wages were among the highest of all filings. The source does not say whether Microsoft and Adobe are on the same list as the other named firms, or whether the suspension is a separate action. The 99% figure Vance cites is his opinion, not a measured number. The source does not say that Nadella or the other CEOs commented on the suspension.
“we're also going to deny them the ability to apply for these permanent residencies until they show that they are going to get serious about putting American workers first”
— JD Vance, Vice President